LONG-standing local nurse Lois Hore has seen and done it all.<\/p>\n
Approaching 50 years in the profession, Mrs Hore has worked as a nurse in roles including aged care, administration and COVID immunisation, and is now part of Bendigo Health’s Discharge Lounge team.<\/p>\n
Across half a century she has witnessed the total transformation of the Bendigo Hospital campus in Barnard Street, plus massive improvements in medical technology and patient care.<\/p>\n
Growing up in Strathfieldsaye, from the very beginning it was all she wanted to do.<\/p>\n
“Nursing was every little girl’s dream,” she said.<\/p>\n
“When I left school at 14 I didn’t have enough education, so I worked in cafes, garages, wherever I could.<\/p>\n
“But the idea stayed in my head, and in the end I became a nursing aide at the former Home and Hospital for the Aged. That was 23 June, 1975.”<\/p>\n
Decades later, Mrs Hore said with a mix of amazement and nostalgia: “Oh my goodness, the changes…<\/p>\n
“All the computerised stuff’s in now, whereas back in the old days, everything was done by hand.<\/p>\n
“That was a nightmare to me (at first). I used to panic like mad because I didn’t think I could do it.<\/p>\n
“But once I got to know it, it was quite simple and it made life a lot easier.”<\/p>\n
She said one of her biggest highlights was when daughter Elise decided to study nursing.<\/p>\n
“When she did her grad year at Bendigo Hospital you’d never seen a prouder mama \u2013 to be able to go to work and my daughter’s there,” Mrs Hore said.<\/p>\n
Elise explained her own career decision: “Mum always really enjoyed her job and recommended it \u2013 my auntie’s a nurse as well so it was just around me,” she said.<\/p>\n
“It’s been lovely working at the same hospital as Mum and catching up and having a cuppa with her after our shifts. She inspires me \u2013 she’s got such a hard work ethic; she just hasn’t wanted to stop.”<\/p>\n
Mrs Hore said she still feels like she’s part of it all.<\/p>\n
“I keep telling everyone when I’m not around anymore, (my spirit) will continue walking the corridors,” she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONG-standing local nurse Lois Hore has seen and done it all. Approaching 50 years in the profession, Mrs Hore has worked as a nurse in roles including aged care, administration and COVID immunisation, and is now part of Bendigo Health’s Discharge Lounge team. Across half a century she has witnessed the total transformation of the […]<\/p>\n